SQL Server - where is "sys.functions"?

user_13302 0
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SQL Server 2005 has great sys.XXX views on the system catalog which I use frequently.

What stumbles me is this: why is there a sys.procedures view to see info about your stored procedures, but there is no sys.functions view to see the same for your stored functions?

Doesn't anybody use stored functions? I find them very handy for e.g. computed columns and such!

Is there a specific reason sys.functions is missing, or is it just something that wasn't considered important enough to put into the sys catalog views? Is it available in SQL Server 2008?

stored-functions sql-server-2005 sql-server sql
10 Answers

I find UDFs are very handy and I use them all the time.

I'm not sure what Microsoft's rationale is for not including a sys.functions equivalent in SQL Server 2005 (or SQL Server 2008, as far as I can tell), but it's easy enough to roll your own:

CREATE VIEW my_sys_functions_equivalent
AS
SELECT *
FROM sys.objects
WHERE type IN ('FN', 'IF', 'TF')  -- scalar, inline table-valued, table-valued
Luke_558470

Another way to list functions is to make use of INFORMATION_SCHEMA views.

SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES WHERE ROUTINE_TYPE = 'FUNCTION'

According to the Microsoft web site "Information schema views provide an internal, system table-independent view of the SQL Server metadata. Information schema views enable applications to work correctly although significant changes have been made to the underlying system tables". In other words, the underlying System tables may change as SQL gets upgraded, but the views should still remain the same.

Tim_C_75850

It's very slightly more verbose, but this should do exactly the same thing:

select * from sys.objects where (type='TF' or type='FN')

As far as I can see, it's not in SQL Server 2008 either.

Ayresome_456990

incidentally, wouldn't you want to include type = 'FS'?

name    type    type_desc
getNewsletterStats  FS  CLR_SCALAR_FUNCTION

that's what the item in sys.objects corresponds with for my UDF which is derived from an external DLL

Admin1

To extend upon @LukeH's answer, to return the function definitions as well requires a join to the sys.sql_modules table. So the query for this is:

SELECT O.name as 'Function name', M.definition as 'Definition', O.object_id
FROM sys.objects as O INNER JOIN sys.sql_modules as M
    ON O.object_id = M.object_id
WHERE type IN ('FN', 'IF', 'TF')  -- scalar, inline table-valued, table-valued

where the above displays the function name, its definition and the object identifier respectively.

user_6264420
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